3 reasons the Canucks will maintain their momentum against the Predators

It’s been just one game, but the Vancouver Canucks could have built some serious momentum following their 4-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Sunday. For one, you couldn’t have asked for more even numbers, yet the Canucks still managed to win by multiple goals. 

While goaltender Juuse Saros faced just 20 shots on net, Canucks netminder Thatcher Demko saw 22, and the total number of shots on goal was 21 for Vancouver and 22 for the Preds. Both teams were more than physical, and their respective edginess defined playoff hockey, yet this was a game the Canucks wanted just a little more. 

And in the end, they’re the ones who will carry momentum into Game 2. Here are three reasons Canucks fans around the world can be confident their team can keep building that momentum. 

The primary scorers never stole the show

J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, Brock Boeser, and Quinn Hughes were all shut out on the scoreboard. As for Pettersson, he logged neither a goal nor an assist and finished the game with a minus-1. Miller and Boeser clocked in an assist apiece, while Hughes had two helpers, but few of us would have guessed a pair of depth scorers stole the show in this one. 

Okay, it’s hard to call Dakota Joshua a clear-cut “depth scorer” these days, as he gave the Canucks 17:48 of total ice time. But still, few saw the breakout player scoring twice (one empty-netter) and logging an additional helper for a three-point outing. 

Ditto for Elias Lindholm, whose 18:14 of ice time doesn’t necessarily put him further down the lineup. But thanks to his rather inconsistent play since he arrived in Vancouver, he could be finding his rhythm in the postseason with a goal and a plus-2. 

That said, if Miller, Pettersson, and company don’t find the net, it’s reassuring this high-scoring Canucks team’s skaters playing second-line minutes will. 

That third period played a monstrous role in Game 1 

Wow, what a final 40 minutes from the Canucks, as they logged all four goals in the second and third frames combined. Three of those goals came in the final frame, one of which being an empty-netter from Joshua to prevent any late comeback.

But for a team that found itself down by a goal after the first 40 minutes, it was a momentum shifter when Pius Suter found twine with helpers from Quinn Hughes and Brock Boeser to tie the game, only for Joshua to score 12 seconds later with assists from Connor Garland and Hughes. 

For an underdog like the Predators to hold a lead against a mighty, high-scoring team like the Canucks, only to see the momentum shift within seconds, it may take a lot out of them. Sure, Vancouver could skate back out onto the ice and look flat when Game 2 rolls around, but to steal the lead in a 12-second span while nearing the 50-minute mark? 

If nothing else basically gave the Canucks momentum, it was those 12 seconds in the third that could have demoralized Nashville in at least the first leg of this series - Games 1 and 2. Vancouver only needs to enter Game 2, take control early, and make it tough for Nashville to mount any sort of comeback in this series.